Remembering Bomber Command

Yesterday I had the BBC News Channel on whilst I was preparing the gifts for Zambia. I switched on just as coverage started of the Queen visiting somewhere or other. (I thought it was probably somewhere in northern Ireland again after the historic handshake yesterday; but she was back in London.)

Over the next five minutes I became engrossed in the events that were unfolding. The Queen was unveiling a memorial to all those who died in Bonber Command. 70 years these servicemen and their relatives have waited for a memorial, I can't imagine the pain of such waiting.

So many men died fighting for their country, from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and also from Germany - there were brave men on both sides.

Don't get me wrong; this doesn't change how I feel about war and how I long for peace in the world. But these men fought for their countries when they knew their chances of survival were slim. These men need remembering; just as men and women in the forces now need support and love.

The memorial is mind blowing; seven men ready and kitted out to board a Lancaster bomber and fight in the skies. In a special area of Green Park it truly marks all that so many men gave for their country.

I watched the whole service; a simple and moving service of remembrance. And then the last of the Lancaster's flew over and dropped a poppy for every life lost from Bomber Command.

All those poppies
All those lives
We will remember